Interlocking wall unit



Jam l5, 1935. E; AQORN 1,987,828 INTERLOCKING WALL UNIT 7 1 Filed Sept. 5, 1935 2 Sh'eetsQSheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY5 Efgvin fl bfflorn Patented Jan. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

My present invention relates to the art of building construction and more particularly to an interlocking wall unit.

It is well recognized that there is a great national need for cheaper construction in homes for persons of moderate means. The logical answer seems'to be pre-fabrication of the essential elements that go into the home construction, away from the building site. Many attempts have been made to produce house construction units of the prefabricated type but they normally meet the objections that any panel arrangement creates unsightly joints and that the design of houses built of panels is so restricted as to lose the individuality that is so sought after by the average home owner. In my present wall unit I believe I have overcome many of the objections of past construction and that I have produced a wall unit which is cheap in first cost, can be erected in a minimum of time by unskilled labor, that produces a wall of great strength and provides an unusual degree of insulation, therefore:

The principal object of my present invention is to provide an interlocking wall unit which when a plurality of the same are properly assembled as a .unit, a wall is provided which presents a finished surface on both sides of the wall and has within it the required studding strength and the highly desirable dead air chambers fo insulation.

Another object is the production of a wall unit which can be secured in place without the use of nails, screws or the usual fastenings and which can therefore be easily taken down if desired without damaging the panels.

Other and more specific objects will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective showing in sectional view, a wall under construction from unitsmade after the teachings of my invention.

Figure 2 is a cross section in plan view, showing a typical joint assembly.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view illustrating the normal use of a sill and plate with my wall unit. Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a wedge unit such as used in forming each joint of my wall.

Figure 5 illustrates a joint made after the general teachings of Figure 2 with slight modifications.

Figures 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, illustrates the various steps in the formation of a single wall joint.

Referring to the drawings, throughout which like reference characters indicate like parts, 12 illustrates the wall panel proper and 14 the studding members of one of my wall units. In the present illustration I have indicated the panel, as a separate sheet. Quite often plywood would be used for this purpose and as illustrated a wooden stud member 14 is secured to the plywood panel in any suitable manner as by either gluing, nailing or screw fastening to the panel. 10 I wish to make it clear however that this is only one form of construction which might be used.-

I am fully aware of the tremendous development in composition material, in fibre fabrication and the like and I wish it to be clearly un- 15 derstood that the principles of my present invention can be applied with equal ease to any of the known materials now used in the building trade.

In constructing a wall of my unit it is my present belief that best results will be obtained by over-lapping the units of the front and rear wall faces after the showing of Figure 1. In this I have illustrated the panel proper. 12 to which is secured a plurality of studding mem-. bers as 14, 16, 18 and 20. Studs 16 and 20, referring now to Figure 1, should be disposed so as to be flush with the edges of panel 12. Studs 14 and 18 should be disposed on each side of the center of the panels 12 and spaced apart a distance equal to slightly more than twice the width of the stud members.

The size of each wall unit will be a matter of design which must be governed by the conditions at hand. A very satisfactory unit is of a length, 35 which, when disposed vertically, would be equal to the height of wall of the intended structure. The width should be as wide as can be conveniently handled, 4 feet has been found to be a very satisfactory width but this dimension again will be governed by the conditions at hand.

The manner of using my wall unit will probably best be understood by a careful study of the various drawings, particularly Figures 1, 6,

'7, 8, 9' and 10. One wall unit as 22 is stood upright in its desired position. Another wall unit as 24 is arranged to overlap unit 22 so that one of its marginal edges embracing stud 16, for instance, will be placed between the two centrally disposed studding members 14 and 18. Now to provide an interlocking arrangement it is necessary to form a mold on the engaging surfaces of the studding member. This may be after the showing of the various figures 6 to 10 inclusive, or may follow the showing of Figure 5, or any other desirable arrangements whereby male and female interlocking members will be produced.

Panel 24 is pressed toward panel 22 until the studding 16 abuts panel 22. It is then, as viewed in Figure 7, moved to the left until the interlocking surface of studding 16 and 18 are in intimate engagement. Then another panel as 26 is overlapped on panel 22' until molds 20 abut that panel. It is then moved to the right after the showing of Figure 8.

To secure the three panel members 22, 24 and 26, in an interlocking relationship, a wedge 28 is employed which is driven in between the two panels until its inner end abuts panel 22. The form of wedge which has proven most satisfactory is that as shown in greater detail in Figure 2. It consists of a wedge member 28 having a central portion having parallel sides. The inner edge of the wedge is chamfered oil as at 30 and 32 so as to wedge the two panel members apart and thus securely seat them in interlockingarrangement with the stud members. The outer edge of one face of the wedge is tapered off so as to provide a seat for a second and smaller wedge 34.

To complete the assembly, after wedge 28 has been driven home wedge 34 is driven in after the showing of Figure 9. The wall is normally left in this condition until a reasonable period of settling has occurred. This may be just the period required for the construction of the building or it might be longer but after the settling period has passed wedge 34 is driven further home, if it is possible, and then the outwardly projecting portions of wedges 28 and 34 are trimmed oif flush with the wall surface as is indicated in Figure 10. This presents a smooth,

neat appearing wall surface that lends itself to any desired type of finish.

It will be understood it is believed that alternate joints are made on the reverse side of the wall, this is indicated in Figure 1. Consequently when the wall is finished it presents a smooth finish on both sides and it presents a plurality of air chambers 36. The studding as 14, 16 and 18 and 20, which normally will be of smaller dimensions than the usual studding found in a house, are by their increased number of equal strength. Consequently a plate for the reception of rafters or ceiling joists as 38 can be disposed directly on top of the studding. The same construction would hold true of the lower plate upon which the studdings rest. This is illustrated at 40 in Figure 3. To make the neatest and best appearing wall the studding members should stop short of each end of the panel, by end is meant the upper and lower extremities, by an amount equal to the thickness of the plate or sill. This arrangement is.indicated in Figure 3.

In order to provide an entirely smooth finish it is necessary to notch in wedge 28 as at 42 and 44 so as to accommodate the sill and plate. Then too, wedge 34 can be similarly notched, altho as a matter of fact this wedge is usually drawn to a rather fine point and when driven into place the fine point will normally be crushed thus doing away with the absolute necessity of notch ng the end as illustrated in Figure 4. If it is desired to use this wall construction for temporary purposes the wedges need not be secured at all but allowed to be held by friction or a screw at intervals might be employed to hold the wedges in place. If, however, the construction is to be permanent the wedges may be glued or nailed in position.

It will be clear it is believed that walls of any length might be constructed after these principles and by virtue of the relative wide extent of each panel a wall of several lengths can be assembled by unskilled labor in a very short time. When so erected the wall is complete in itself, no additional framing is necessary around openings as the wall is equal in strength to that normally employed.

This form of unit if made of lumber, particularly of ply-wood, has the advantages of using up materials that would normally be second class materials. In other words in the production of plywood it is often found that one side of a panel will be in excellent condition whereas the other side may be checked or have pitch pockets, knots or be otherwise imperfect. This can be placed on the inside of the wall. It will serve just as well as a perfect piece of material and will save such materials for real use that otherwise would be of little value. The studdings themselves are most economically made inasmuch as they are so well supported by each other that second grade lumber is just as satisfactory as the better grade thus efiecting a great economy as well as again using materials that otherwise might not find a ready market.

With the present high development of processed wall boards. as wood and vegetable fibres of all kinds, it is believed that a highly successful board might be formed in which the studding members would be made as a unit with the panel itself. This would lend itself to very economical construction and would provide a more excellent panel.

The foregoing description and the accompanying drawings are believed to clearly disclose a preferred embodiment of my invention but it will be understood that this disclosure is merely illustrative and that such changes in the invention may be made as are fairly within the scope and spirit of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a double-wall structure the combination with spaced wall sections, of a pair of spaced parallel studs attached to one wall section, the other wall section comprising a pair of panels each having an edge-stud, said edge-studs interposed between the spaced studs, and means between the edge-studs for holding the latter in locking engagement with the spaced studs.

2. In a double-wall structure the combination with spaced wall sections, of a pair of spaced parallel studs attached to one wall section, the other wall section comprising a pair of panels each having an edge-stud, said edge-studs interposed between the spaced studs, co-acting locking means on adjoining faces of the spaced studs and edge-studs, and a spreader between the edge-studs.

3. In a double-wall structure the combination with spaced wall sections, of a pair of spaced parallel studs attached to one wall section, the other wall section comprising a pair of panels each having an edge-stud, said edge-studs interposed between the spaced studs, co-acting tongues and grooves on adjoining faces of the spaced studs and edge-studs, and a spreader between the edge-studs.

4. In a double-wall structure the combination with spaced wall section, of a pair of spaced parallel studs attached to one wall section, the other wall section comprising a pair of panels each having an edge-stud, said edge-studs interposed between the spaced studs, co-acting tongues and grooves on adjoining faces of the spaced studs and edge-studs, a. spreader-strip between the edge studs, and a wedge between 5 said strip and one of the edge-studs.

ERWIN A. HORN. 

